Preferring to seek the counsel of third parties rather than talk to each other, both Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, went travelling yesterday - seeking favour abroad for their respective stances on the future of Jerusalem, the issue that stands between them and a permanent peace deal.
Mr Barak flew to Alexandria, for a meeting with Egypt's President, Mr Hosni Mubarak; Mr Arafat jetted to Pretoria to meet Mr Thaba Mbeki and his predecessor as South African president, Mr Nelson Mandela. There were no indications that these discussions had advanced the prospects for a compromise agreement.
Both the Egyptians and the South Africans indicated they would recognise an independent Palestinian state should Mr Arafat, as he is insisting he will, declare its establishment on September 13th. And, publicly at least, neither Mr Mbeki nor Mr Mubarak or his Foreign Minister, Mr Amr Moussa, followed President Clinton's lead, in the aftermath of last month's deadlocked Camp David summit, in blaming Mr Arafat for failing to give serious consideration to US and Israeli proposals for the sharing of Jerusalem.
Indeed, Mr Barak's reception in Egypt was some way short of what he would have wished for. No sooner was his meeting in Alexandria with the president over, than the prime minister and the Israeli press were ushered off to the airport. There was no joint press conference, no opportunity even for the Israeli journalists to put questions to the Egyptians.
Only after Mr Barak had departed did Mr Moussa emerge, to flatly reject the notion - the very purpose of Mr Barak's visit - that Egypt might use its influence to steer Mr Arafat towards a compromise. "Are we supposed to pressure President Arafat to make concessions on Jerusalem?" Mr Moussa wondered incredulously.
"This is not our job. Concessions are needed from all parties within the framework of international legitimacy, not outside of it."
More predictably, Mr Moussa added that Egypt would recognise Palestine whenever Mr Arafat formally established it, "on September 13th, September 12th, September 14th, August or October."
At a hurried impromptu press conference at the airport, meanwhile, Mr Barak was insisting he had "found a readiness to listen in Egypt to the complexities of the problem" - a readiness to listen, certainly, but nothing more, and absolutely no readiness to act in the way that Mr Barak had hoped.
Only when he came back to Israeli earth did Mr Barak gain a modicum of good news. After day upon day of unproductive Middle Eastern summitry, lost Knesset votes, defecting coalition partners and resigning ministers, his own Labour Party got together to refute suggestions that it is plotting his downfall from within.
Two potential successors, Mr Yossi Beilin and Mr Shlomo BenAmi, made clear they would not campaign against him.